Star Trek Darkness: Sunset

[squiggy]

Starfleet Headquarters 2477

The young woman sat across from Admiral T'sara, frowning.
"Admiral, what you have explained to me sounds rather dire. Do we know ANYTHING about them?" The woman asked.
T'sara shook her head.
"It's been nearly 30 years now, since Van den Hause abandoned Starfleet, and delivered the Cathexis, and Reid, home like he was ordered." T'sara said softly.
"And the USS Monitor?" The woman asked.
T'sara looked down.
"It was destroyed." She said softly.
"Do you tell EVERY Captain about this?" She asked.
"It used to be highly classified. Everything about Nabiru. But after it was confirmed that they intend to wage a war against Starfleet, and that they apparently know how to twist someone's darker side, as seen by how easily they tapped into Van den Hause, and his slow-burning hatred for Starfleet, Starfleet decided they couldn't anymore. But the problem is, they know far more about US, than we know about THEM." T'sara said softly.
The woman nodded.
"Is what mom said true? Was he really THAT abrassive?" The woman asked.
T'sara nodded.
"He had a judicial record that was large enough to take up 1/7th of the Judicial Record's office. If you combine his, Admiral Janeway's, and Captain Reid's together, you made up for 1/2 of it. They had to expand their' databank size 237 times when Reid and Van den Hause set off on that Nightshade business. Nevermind all the other stuff they set off. Your' mother was down-playing him quite a bit, I assume, young lady." T'sara replied.
"So... what has Starfleet all in a huffy?" The woman asked.
"Our allies in the Gamma quadrant, the Dominion, have declared a state of emergency. As of twelve days ago, no communications through the wormhole at DS9 have been recieved, or responded to." T'sara said softly.
"There's more, isn't there?" The woman asked.
T'sara nodded.
"As first theorized by your' mother, Admiral Alantra Morrison, Captain, the technological information that Van den Hause had stored in his mind, which he was more than willing to hand over in exchange for Reid's life, would have enabled them to extrapolate 20'th century technology to current, and likely define where we would be 10, 20, perhaps even 30 years from that point. She was proven correct when Deep Space 9's shields held up for 0.2 seconds under fire from an unknown enemy. We are at war, Captain Morrison. And we haven't a shadow in the dark's clue on where the bright side of this is." T'sara replied.
Captain Morrison looked down.
"And... the Naians. The Romulans. The Klingons. The Cardassians. Any word?" She asked.
T'sara nodded.
"The Naians, Romulans, Klingons, and Cardassians are sending assistance fleets. They don't want these guys in our' quadrant any more than we do. The Naians, Romulans, and Klingons our close enough allies, to know that if they can obliterate one starbase in under a minute, odds are, these beings can do the same to their' own." T'sara said.
"And... let's go further, to perhaps, some of our' more shaky new allies. The Orions? The S'bithra? The mermadians?" Morrison asked.
"Jennifer, you show your' mother's hard-studying mind-set, if not necessarily applied to the same subjects. The Orions, after hearing Castoria's testimony, are bulking up their' border patrols, but haven't decided if they are going to help us. The S'bithra have only recently agreed not to fire on us on site, and they are rather annoyed that we are protecting the Mermadians from them. And the Mermadians can't even protect themselves from the S'bithra. I'm afraid we don't have that many allies. And the worst part, is that the Annunaki have cultural data on all but the Romulans, and the three that want nothing to do with us." T'sara said, frowning.
"So... why have you brought me here?" Captain Jennifer Morrison asked.
"Because it's high time that you be transferred off of charting duties, aboard the USS Intrepid-C, and be given a ship a little better suited to your' attitude, Captain." T'sara said, as she got up.
"A frigate? Or a dreadnought?" Jennifer asked.
T'sara shook her head.
"A ship that re-defined Starship cataloging." T'sara replied.
T'sara walked out to the docking-ports of Starbase 51, orbiting Andor.
"This, Captain Morrison, is nothing less than, and therefore defined as, a Juggernaut." T'sara said, as she brought Morrison's attention to the ship.
"But it can't be...woah." Morrison started, and then stopped, mid-sentence.
The ship docked to the Starbase made the planet Andor look rather tiny in comparison.
"This, Captain Morrison, is the United Federation of Planets battle-cruiser Salvation. It has weaponry that the Federation has never used before, slip-stream drive, And such strange new shielding, out of Romulus, that nine out of ten Romulan border patrols wouldn't know how to get past. It can CLOAK, as well, special thanks to the Klingons, and it incorporates the Naian's Omega Particle cannon, as well as a few other nifty new tricks Starfleet thought up, by combining Klingon, Romulan, Naian, and Federation technology. The Cardassians tried to kick in a new transporter system, but if was rather inferior to the Federation version." T'sara said.
Morrison nodded.
"Captain Morrison, I've decided to give you command of this vessel, over every other Captain left, strictly because I know you are the only one who would refuse an order to use it offensively. You know, just as well as I do, that this ship has to remain a secret to the Federation civilians, to the Romulans, to the Klingons, to the Orions, to the Naians, to the S'bithra, to the Mermaids, and to anyone, and everyone, that it has to deal with. It CANNOT fall into enemy hands. Period. And if the civilians of this galaxy ever discovered that we built something that could shred a planet in minutes, never-mind a Starship, they would want to know WHY we built it. And that, we can't tell them." T'sara said quietly.
"Why not?" Morrison asked.
T'sara looked at her.
"Because we'd have to admit that Starfleet's greatest heroes have flaws. Just like the rest of us. And that those flaws can cause them to become the enemy. Do you know how many people would distrust the Naians, and demand that the Federation un-ally with them if they discovered that Van den Hause went to the other side?" T'sara asked.
"I see that becoming the Commander and Chief of Starfleet has brought out a non-vulcan side of you." Morrison noted.
"Yes, it has. Although, as your' mother likely will tell you, my control was never perfect to begin with, that's not the point. You get my meaning?" T'sara asked.
Captain Morrison nodded.
"Than get up onto that bridge, Jennifer. And take command of the half million people, who we are depending on." T'sara said.
Jennifer nodded.
"And... Captain Morrison?" T'sara asked.
Jennifer turned, as she was about to leave.
"Yes, Admiral?" She asked.
"If you find yourself in need of council, you should trust your' crew. They are dedicated. They are unique. But they all have their' flaws. I know there's a lot of them, but you should read through the crew roster." T'sara said.
"Anyone I should rely on the most?" Morrison asked.
T'sara nodded.
"Yes. My daughter." T'sara said, as Morrison left her office, stopping at that phrase.
"Your... daughter?" Morrison said, turning around.
"Yes. Salish should be quite handy to you. Considering she has mind-melded with her mother enough times to know the ins and outs of dealing with Van den Hause. But remember one thing, Captain. Van den Hause is the enemy. Do not, under any circumstances, allow him to escape, if you encounter him. And whatever you do... don't mention that you are Alantra's daughter." T'sara said.
"Why not?" Morrison asked.
"Because Alantra was crazy-in love with him. As was several members of the Uniden, and you are enough like your' mother, that he may be able to turn your' head as well." T'sara whispered.
"You are kidding, of course." Morrison said, turning to leave.
"I wish I was." T'sara said in Vulcan, to the empty office. "I wish I was."

UFPBC Salvation - Stealthily going where so many have gone before
As Jennifer walked calmly onto the bridge, she stared around it.
It was massive. It had 29 different stations, each with multiple crew members manning it.
"Tactical?" Jennifer asked.
"All systems are go. Cloak is active, as per UFP-BC protocols. We are ready to disembark on your' command, Captain." Came the voice of a rather petite appearing woman at the Operations console.
Jennifer nodded.
"Cast off, then." Jennifer said, moving to sit in the central chair.
"Aye Captain." The woman at Operations said.
Jennifer consulted her chair, and quickly checked the crew roster, only to be surprised.
The 'petite' appearing woman at Operations was 12 feet tall... or at least she would be, if the Lieutenant was capable of standing on her fins. Lt. Ausia was also, as typical of Mermadians, not physically feeling her age. She was nearly 400 years old, but looked younger than the 27 year old Captain, herself.
Staring around the bridge, Jennifer was shocked to note how few of the bridge crew were human.
But then again, she supposed, if this was going to be the Galaxy's fight, they should all be represented equally.
Morrison, herself, was a bit of an oddity. The S'bithra were mostly human, with the exception of having green hair. While her mother had been completely human, her father had been completely S'bithra. And Morrison's conception was not at her mother's choice, either.
She noted that the woman at Operations was mildly disturbed by her. She made a note to spend time with her, so that she knew that she could trust her Operations officer, and that her Operations officer could trust her. After all, Morrison decided, if her crew didn't trust her, and if she didn't trust her crew, what chance would they have against someone who likely knew enough about local politics to be able to drive a xenophobic wedge between them, if things became desperate?

Ausia
Ausia frowned, as she looked at the Captain.
It was certainly not what she was expecting, and everything she feared.
Starfleet had allowed a S'bithra to command it's biggest, baddest, warship.
As she slowly began the cast-off procedures, which were extensively long, and annoying, thanks to the ship's large size, she wondered if she could possibly stand being on this ship. There were so many non-finned creatures aboard. And apparently the Andorians had a bit of a taste for intelligent seafood, as did the S'bithra. Ausia looked down at her fins, and shivered. She looked back at the Captain, who appeared to be looking through the crew roster. And then there was that odd look she gave Ausia.
"Great serpent... protect me." She whispered in Mermadian.

Salish
Salish sat at one of 13 science terminals.
She watched, carefully, the interaction between the Mermadian, and the half-S'bithra. Salish wondered if assigning them to the same ship was a good idea, however she was aware of how much Captain Morrison loathed the S'bithra, and their' look towards most other life-forms. She hoped that Captain Morrison did something very quickly to diffuse the situation between herself, and her tactical officer, as, unlike most humanoids, and vulcanoids, who could note the differences between Captain Morrison, and a typical S'bithra, for example, the fifth finger, and the ear-lobes, most Mermadians would likely see the green hair, and be instantly frightened. It was simple instinct. And Salish was also aware that Ausia had been rescued from a S'bithran holding cell by Captain Morrison's mother.
This was likely going to be a very interesting trip, Salish decided. Especially since Captain Morrison wasn't the only S'bithra aboard. And Ausia was not the only Mermadian aboard. And then there were the Romulans, the Klingons, the Orions, the Humans, the Andorians, the Tellarites, the Vulcans, and even a few Cardassians aboard. All of these unique cultures were attempting to put their' past wars aside. The Andorians, and Tellarites. The Klingons, and Romulans. The Humans, and Cardassians. The Orions and... well... everyone, really. All of them. And yet, the same prejudices came to mind so easily. Salish hoped that the ship wouldn't destroy itself from the inside long before it ever saw a single Annunaki ship.

[squiggy]

First Officer S'treel
S'treel strolled onto the bridge, and stopped, mid-step.
There was a S'bithra in the command seat... or at least she appeared S'bithra. And there... was a Mermadian at Tactical.
"I don't work with my lunch." He said, frowning, as he sat down at the secondary tactical console.

Jennifer
It was that exact moment that Jennifer happened to be strolling through her first officer's crew roster file.
"Commander S'treel, if you do not wish to be ejected out a photon torpedoe tube without a space suit, I think you should very seriously consider re-analyzing your' strategy in working with the ship's Chief Tactical officer. And if you don't think I'll do it, you just watch." Jennifer said in warning.

Ausia
Ausia was at first officer rather scared, by the movements of the first officer, and his comments, however, the Captain had apparently decided to take her side on this. For what reason, Ausia did not understand.
As she pretended to ignore what was going on, instead paying attention to scanning frequencies, Ausia noted that the Captain had drawn herself up, and was glaring at the first officer.

Salish
And with a quick leap, Salish flew over the railing next to her science terminal, and landed squarely between Captain Morrison and Commander S'treel.
"I do not care, Captain Morrison, that you have an issue with S'bithra. I do not care, Commander S'treel, that you would rather eat Lieutenant Ausia, than work with her. I do not care, Lieutenant Ausia, that you are so afraid of both your' Captain, and your' First Officer, that you can't say a single word. Either the three of you move to separate corners of the bridge, until you are cool enough to take this to the briefing room... with me present, and sort this out, or I will shove all THREE of you out of the nearest photon tube, and allow you to duke it out in zero gravity... for the .92 seconds that you will survive. You are very fortunate that there are only senior members of the crew on the bridge right now, because nothing the three of you has done yet has proven to me that anyone who didn't understand the cultural issue in play here, who happened to observe this, would be calling security. Now, Captain Morrison, cool it. Ausia, please stay at your' station. First Officer S'treel, I could use your' help recalibrating the sensor array." Salish said, somewhat annoyed.

Jennifer
Jennifer was severely taken aback by the young Vulcan woman's outburst.
However, she was greatful that someone had stepped in. She had come very close to deciding that this First Officer needed his face remodeled with a high-heeled-forehead-ornament... namely, one of Jennifer's pointy-heeled barely-regulation shoes.
She simply nodded, and sat back down in the command chair.

Ausia
Ausia was rather impressed, that both the Captain, and Lieutenant Salish had intervened on her behalf.
She watched as the Captain tapped a few commands into her chair, apparently reading over several of the ship's command cyphers, and basic control systems.
Ausia stared at the Captain fascinated, first by the woman's fifth finger, and then by her ear lobes. It occurred to Ausia that she had mis-judged this woman.
As she stared over at the First Officer, however, she shivered.
System Error. A Network Cable in ((Weapons/Omega Particle Array)) is unplugged. The computer terminal informed her.
"Ausia to engineering. What in Burning Barbeques is wrong with this stupid bloody weapons console?" She asked aloud, knowing that it would be relayed to some one who could fix it.
"Uh... Ausia, we are having a mild virus attack that has taken over our' operating system, and installed some rather... improperly designed.... concepts. Some idiot at Fleet HQ has upgraded to a rather inferior control system, and it's going to be difficult with us. Please have patience." Came a response.

Jennifer
Jennifer over-heard the response, and also noted the rather un-intelligent design of the interface. Her Terminal had already given her thirteen "404 errors", whatever the hell those were, and had repeatedly complained that, despite the fact that her chair was accepted as a 'network administrator', she had 'insufficient permissions' to access half of the items she should have access to.
"Captain Morrison to Engineering, what the hell is going on down there?" She asked.

Chief Engineer Hcch, Engineering - **For reference on this specie, please refer to the Original Series book "Doctor's orders". The Lahit, and a few other species 'borrowed' from other books will appear. This does not mean that all alien species are 'borrowed'. Both the S'bithra, and the Mermadians are examples of my twisted imagination.**
The Ornaet forced an eyeball to appear out of hir blobby single-celled body.
"Santos! What is wrong with this piece of junk?" Hcch asked.
"Uh, Chief, I don't know how to tell you this, but that company that Starfleet hired to re-design it's operating system made a bloody mess out of things. We've already had about 19 complaints about "Unsupported drivers", and I feel so sorry for the guys in stellar cartography, because "A network cable is unplugged in ((StellarCartography/Localnetwork/lifesupport.exe)).". I have a sneaky suspicion that whoever the hell hired a software company that's been in business since the late 20th century probably wasn't a good idea." Santos said softly.
The Ornaet nodded hir eyeball, and extended a blob of itself, to access the control panel, and then quickly tried re-arranging the 'network access' priorities in that area.
"Get the Captain on the phone, Hcch. There's a serious problem here." Santos said, as the Replicator's screen suddenly changed to a blue screen with:
"A critical error in Engineering/Replicator's primary software((Windows Starfleet Edition)) has caused an unknown error in ((Replicate: Engineering/ReplicatorDatabase/Replicate.exe)) and must be terminated.
Please press CTRL + ALT + DELETE to reboot this system, or wait to see if the software will respond."
"Engineering to Captain Morrison, would you mind calling up Starfleet and asking what is going on here? This new operating system is a piece of junk." Hcch said softly.

Bridge
Salish
Salish raised an eyebrow, and stared at the science terminal, unamused.
"Captain... This operating system is... badly.... badly... oh... fine, it's absolutely useless." Salish said.
Her screen was reporting that Engineering/Science/ was not a valid file-path, and that Bridge/ScienceTerminal was not a recognized network computer system.

Jennifer
"Ausia, please raise Starfleet. I'm going to have a few words. If this thing is 'top of the line', why in all hell did they give us THIS piece of garbage?" Jennifer instructed.
"Aye Captain." Ausia replied.

[squiggy]

Ausia

"Captain, Starfleet's on the line." Ausia said softly.
She frowned at the screen, as she argued with "Regional Networks" and "Local Area Networks", to relay the signal to the Captain's comm-badge.

Jennifer

"WHY THE HELL AREN'T THEY ON THE VIEWSCREEN?" Jennifer demanded.
"Uh... Captain, there's a network cable unplugged somewhere between anywhere and the viewscreen." Hcch's grated voice came through a comm-panel somewhere.
"Acknowledged. Ausia, patch starfleet in." Jennifer instructed.
"Aye Captain." Ausia said.
"Captain... Morrison, I can't see you." Admiral T'sara's voice came through the comm-relays.
"That's what I'm calling about. What in hades' name is with this operating system?" Jennifer asked.
"Warning. A network Cable is unplugged in 'Holodeck' 29. EMH.hpp has been transferred to the nearest available network... Shuttlebay 12." The computer said in warning.
"Engineering!" Jennifer yelled.
"On it Captain." Came a voice, almost instantly.
"T'sara, I'm going to personally decapitate you if you don't get this thing fixed. It's already cost me 3 members of stellar cartography, because "A network cable" was unplugged in their' life support systems." Jennifer said, annoyed.
"I've already got a ship en route for tow. We're already reverting most of the system back to the old-fashioned LCSARS system." T'sara said softly, and then the comm system disappeared.
"An unspecified driver fault has caused subspace network "SF1" to have been disconnected." The computer voice said softly.
"ENGINEERING!" Jennifer yelled.
"ON IT, Captain." Hcch's voice came through the intercomm.
**Too be continued**